Lewis Hamilton our British Hero

After the disappointment of losing a dominant win in Baku when his headrest became loose, and then being given a five second grid penalty in Austria, Lewis Hamilton opted to take some time out for himself, to get prepared for his home race at Silverstone. Read on to find out if it worked for him

Lewis Hamilton, our British Hero

After the last two races saw Vettel widen his championship lead to 20 points, Lewis Hamilton knew he had to be prepared in the best possible way to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.. Although he had been active in suggesting a Grand Prix race through the streets of London, when a drive through the streets of London was arranged , Lewis sent a message to his fans saying he would see them on Thursday, as he would not be driving.

This was met with a ,lot of negative reports form The British Press, he was branded a villain, and booed when his name was mentioned at the drive through. But Lewis had a good reason for not being there, he wanted to prepare himself for the race, and get his head together, he wanted to win his home Grand Prix. He knew his loyal fans would understand, but unfortunately there is no loyalty at Fleet Street, just a desire to kick a man when he is down. And even though that man is our British hero, and outstanding sportsman , it makes no difference, the Press have to spread their vitriol.

Qualifying

During free practice, Mercedes looked to have the edge on Ferrari with speed, Bottas topped the first two practices, and Lewis the third one. There was little to choose between them, that was until qualifying. From then on Lewis showed his amazing pace. Nobody could match him, the nearest person was Raikenon, who was half a second behind, then came Vettel who was seven tenths, and then Bottas who was eight tenths.

Lewis set another pole record beating his own time at this circuit from last year, and clinched his 67th pole position, which is just one short of the all time leader Schumaker. In his interview after the race, he seemed quietly confident, but as always he preferred t let his driving do the talking.

Ferrari driver Vettel said he was not worried about qualifying, he felt they had a fast car, and could match Mercedes in the race. Bottas was disappointed, as after qualifying in fourth, he also had a gear box penalty, which meant he would start from ninth position. However, the track was such that he would have good opportunities to overtake.

The Race

Right from the beginning the race belonged to Lewis. He made a great start, and pulled ahead immediately. Behind him, Verstappen managed to get past Vettel, and this gave Raikenon the opportunity to pull away from his team mate. Lewis continued on his way until there was a safety car, after that he upped his pace and led from the others by some fourteen seconds.

Vettel was held up by Verstappen for some time, and meanwhile Bottas was working his way up the field. Thanks to a perfectly timed pit stop, Bottas on fresher tyres was easily able to get past him, dropping him to fourth ;position. Lewis meanwhile sailed away into the distance, he owned that race, it was his time to shine for his British fans.

On the penultimate lap, both Vettel and Raikenon got a puncture, and had to go in for fresh tyres. Lewis then noticed his tyres were blistering, and immediately slowed his pace to bring the car safely home..

This allowed Bottas into second place, so when the race was over it was a Mercedes first and second. Lewis had led the race for every lap, and at no time was there anyone to challenge him. Raikkenon claimed third place, but Vettel dropped to seventh.

Afterwards

The British fans were ecstatic, Lewis had silenced all his critics with such a dominating performance, and he was quick to thank his fans. He followed this up with crowd surfing, and chants of LEWIS rang through Silverstone. This was his 57th race win, and at Silverstone has won five times, and four of them on consecutive years.

Everywhere there was jubilation that the British hero had once again triumphed, and Lewis spent so much time with his fans, that he was late for the drivers conference, although he did apologise profusely. Not only did he get pole and win the race, he also posted the fastest time.

This win has now put him just one point behind Vettel in the drivers championship. The next race in Hungary will decided who goes into the summer break ahead. Ferrari are confident it will be Vettel, but I am hoping it will be Lewis. This is a closely fought battle, with cars of similar speed, but now Mercedes have got a better understanding of their tyre temperatures, it will be even closer.

I have nothing but contempt for our British Press , who continue no revile Lewis at every opportunity. He is Formula One, the only driver to show any character, or to truly care about his fans. He is known the world over, and they should be celebrating his many achievements. Whether he wins the world championship this year he deserves a knighthood, and I hope it won't be too many years before it is bestowed on him.

This man makes me proud to be British, and it was clear to see how much the Silverstone fans took him to their hearts. Now wonder his fan base grows every day. God bless you Lewis, our superstar!